Maynard, a patrolman with the department for 1 1/2 years, was arrested about 8 a.m. - as he was driving home from work. He is accused of taking cash and a firearm confiscated from suspected drug dealers.

Maynard is disputing the charges. ''He's saying that he's not guilty and he's going to get his job back,'' Police Chief Earl Gooden said.

Maynard has been suspended with pay pending the criminal investigation. An internal investigation is also being conducted, Gooden said.

If convicted, Maynard could face up to 10 years in jail and lose his law enforcement certification.

The arrest came after separate investigations by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Eatonville Police Department that eventually led to a joint sting operation.

After hearing from numerous citizens and drug dealers that Maynard had kept evidence from drug investigations and robbed dealers of money, the agencies set up a vehicle with $500, 10 hits of cocaine and a .45 caliber pistol - all under video surveillance.

Maynard was then dispatched at 5:30 a.m. to a suspicious incident involving suspected drug dealers - who were actually undercover cops. When Maynard arrived, the two suspects ran away from the car but he did not pursue them.

Instead, Gooden said, he had the car towed, submitted the drugs as evidence and kept the money and gun. Both were found on him at the time of his arrest, Gooden said.

FDLE and sheriff's officers searched Maynard's Winter Springs home with his permission following the arrest, but would not comment on what, if anything, was found.

Meanwhile, the sheriff's office is investigating whether Maynard has ever taken money that was to be used in drug stings. He had worked on loan to the sheriff's office in the past on drug buys.

Gooden said that since taking over the 11-officer department in September, he has worked to stop some officers from abusing their positions or taking part in illegal activities. Many officers had only had cursory background checks, so Gooden also launched intensive searches into their histories.

The background check on Maynard revealed that he had been charged with kidnapping, assault and robbery while he was a narcotics officer in the Virgin Islands. Those charges were dropped when key witnesses disappeared.

''There's a public trust each of us has, and when they violate that, we're going to go after them - probably more so than the run-of-the-mill criminal,'' he said.

Investigations of Maynard by both the sheriff's office and the Eatonville department are continuing, and authorities are asking anyone with information about the case to come forward. Authorities would not comment on Maynard's friendship with Ben Smith Jr., who was arrested in September on federal charges of helping to run a crack cocaine operation out of his motel.

''I can't talk any further as to any deeper involvement,'' said FDLE spokesman Mike Brick. ''But now that he's been arrested I doubt that they're going to march him in there in a prison uniform and handcuffs to testify what a great guy Ben Smith is.''